Christmas: See His Face Before You Leave This Place

Theme: See His Face Before You Leave

Text: Luke 2:25-35 And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him.

26 And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ.

27 And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law,

28 Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said,

29 Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word:

30 For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,

31 Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;

32 A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.

33 And Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of him.

34 And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against;

35 (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.

You have been to family gatherings and sometimes before leaving you would make it your business to see the host or hostess before leaving.

When I served as an Evangelist, I had the great honor of ministering to over 300 congregations around the world. Many times, after preaching and conducting the Altar Service, the Pastor of the church would come to me and say, “don’t leave before you see me.”

Many people in this world have sought to see famous faces. I lined at the Louvre Museum in Paris France to see the face of the famous Mona Lisa.

There are many Famous faces that people throughout the ages have made every effort to see.

Pope Francis

Vladimir Putin

Xi Jinping

Kim Jong-un

Bill Clinton

Barack Obama

Donald Trump

Joseph Biden

Michael Jackson

Elvis Presley

Martin Luther King junior

Shaquille O'Neal

Michael Jordan

Mohandas Gandhi

Nelson Mandela

George Washington

Abraham Lincoln

Benjamin Franklin

Queen Elizabeth II

Princess Diana

Beyoncé Knowles

Aunt Jemima

Uncle Ben

Uncle Sam

Colonel Sanders

Ronald McDonald

Mickey Mouse and Kermit, the Frog.

But today I have come by to tell you, that of all the faces you have seen or will ever see, the most important face you must see, before you leave this earth, is the face of Jesus.

SIMEON

Our text today tells us of a Senior Citizen, named Simeon.

This was not Simeon the second son of Jacob and Leah (Genesis 29:33).

This was not Simeon, one of Abraham's descendants (Luke 3:30.)

This was not Symeon, surnamed Niger, one of the teachers of the church at Antioch: (Acts 13:1).

This was not Symeon better known as Peter the apostle: (Acts 15:14).

But this was that devout Simeon whose name means “God has heard.”

This was that Simeon who took the infant Jesus in his arms in the temple. This was that Simeon who determined he was not going to leave this earth until he saw Jesus Luke 2:25, Luke 2:34.

This was that Simeon who had made up in his in mind that he would seek God until he saw the face of God.

This was that Simeon who decided that he was going to be devout and remain faithful to his word that he was going to seek the face of God. Simeon was living in Israel and Israel was living in misery. The Romans had invaded their beloved country in 63 BC and were occupying their beloved capital city, Jerusalem. Their troops marched into Jerusalem, that holy city, dedicated to the worship of Yaweh, with banners that had paintings of their gods and goddesses. This was one of the most sacrilegious desecrations of the holiest city on earth. The Romans were oppressive and cruel. Sometimes crimes were punished with the brutal execution of crucifixion. Half of the population of Israel were enslaved by the Romans. Taxation was extreme and tax-collectors were corrupt. Some resistance movements and revolts occurred but the powerful Roman Legions swiftly put down all insurrections. Hopelessness lined the horizons and the Jews continued to cry for the advent of the Messiah. Simeon was one such person and he stayed in the temple praying day and night, seeking the face of God not just for the deliverance of Israel but for the revelation of Jehovah Himself in the person of the Redeemer. Simeon wanted to see His face. Like Moses, Simeon prayed, “Lord show me your glory. Let me see your face.” Simeon sought the face of God.